Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s
largest automaker, plans to protect the Camry sedan’s position
as the top-selling U.S. car, a company sales executive said.

“I’m very passionate about that,” Bob Carter, senior vice
president of the carmaker’s U.S. sales unit, said yesterday
during an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit. “The
mid-size sedan market is the largest segment in the industry and
we want Toyota to continue to be America’s favorite car,
period.”

The mid-size Camry has been the No. 1-selling U.S. car for
11 consecutive years, and remains in the top spot through
August. For much of 2013, Camry deliveries were lower than a
year earlier. A 22 percent surge last month pushed Camry to a
gain of 2.3 percent for the first eight months.

Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, offered incentives
averaging $2,560 for each Camry sold in August, up from $1,879 a
year earlier, based on an estimate by Edmunds.com, an auto
pricing and data company in Santa Monica, California. That was
above the industry average for mid-size sedans of $2,193, said
Jessica Caldwell, senior industry analyst for Edmunds.

“Our incentives, while they are up from Toyota’s
historical averages, they are still less than where the
competition currently is,” said Carter, who didn’t provide
specific figures. “The bottom line is, the Camry’s No. 1
because it’s a great car.”

After the speech, Carter declined to comment on whether the
Camry needed updating.

“I have nothing to announce today but I will tell you that
we like being No. 1 in the largest segment and we’ll stay
there,” Carter told reporters.